I ran out of laundry detergent yesterday, so whipped up this batch this morning. It took me under 5 minutes, and I don’t even know how much it cost, because it cost so little – and best part, it is 100% zero waste! This recipe can also be easily doubled, tripled, halved, etc.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of baking soda
- 1 cup of borax
- 1 bar of soap – grated
- 10-20 drops of essential oil of your choice (optional)
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients and mix very well.
- Store in a glass jar (with essential oils, it is best to store them in glass, not plastic)
- Use ~1 tbsp per load of laundry
And there you have it – a cheap, easy, zero waste laundry detergent!
Happy washing clothes 🙂
Kate Pepler
Kate is the founder and creator of Our Positive Planet. After graduating from Dalhousie in 2016, she was overcome with a sense of doom. So she took action and created Our Positive Planet – a platform to share environmental success stories, and tips on living a zero waste lifestyle. She has a passion for the outdoors, and love sailing.
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Hi Kate,
I want to assure you that, like you, there are many of us who share the same worries regarding all forms of environmental degradation. I know exactly how you feel. Myself, I’m a graduate of Environmental and Resources Management and Environmental Policy. I realized that, the more you try to understand environmental issues the more disturbing it all becomes. It seems frustrating, but as you rightly mentioned, all hope is not lost. We need to remain positive and put in the good work one small individual step at a time.
Thanks Ernest 🙂
Hi there! do you ever use more than 1 tbsp or is that actually enough? It makes me think we all use way too much soap when washing clothes…
Hey Liz!
I only use 1 tbsp (the spoon I leave in the jar is probably actually a bit less than a full tbsp!).
I agree – I think we use way to much detergent usually!
Hi there … you had mentioned a liquid detergent for cold water washing. Is that mixture available. Just not seeing it on the site.
Thank you,
Krista
Hey Krista!
I’ve just added some hot water to a spoon of the laundry soap to dissolve it! Or you can add water to your whole mixture!